Still a Freak
by BlueViolets87
Summary: "Every so often the woman would glance around. If her husband knew where she was, he would never trust her again." October 31, 1982. One year after the death of Lily, her tight-lipped and nervous older sister decides to visit an old playground with an old memory tucked in her pocket.


The leaves crunched under her feet as she strolled down the road, the wind slapping at her cheeks. Every so often the woman would glance around. If her husband knew where she was, he would never trust her again. Luckily he refused to set foot in Cokeworth, and avoided even talking about it and her past as much as possible. There was a very low chance of anyone seeing her and telling him, at least she hoped. Her hands clenched into fists around her small possession and her eyes were narrow.

It was a colder day than usual and winter was definitely approaching; her least favorite season of them all. When she was growing up, it was her sister's favorite time of the year. Her bright green eyes would sparkle like the gems they were as she pressed her face to the glass and breathed hard, fogging up the window. She would rub her grubby little hand on the glass to create a somewhat clear opening, and a smiley face next to it, and a star and her name over and over. She would then watch the snow dance gracefully in the wind as it fell; almost like magic, she would say. Peh, she never understood her sister's fascination. Winter was awful; it was wet and cold and just tried to cover up the reality of the world with its sparkling snow. It was exactly like her sister.

She sighed, _oh Lily_. She glanced at a nearby window display, showing off the ghosts and witches and narrowed her eyes further, basically squinting. October 31, again. She would have to remember to lock up the house before the little "brats" in costumes go and ruin another perfectly normal night. As she watched the children run around screaming on the street throwing leaves and dirt. One glob of dirt hit her on the back of her leg but unlike normal when something like this would occur (yelling at them until they stopped), she just gave the kids a glare and continued walking.

"Rotten kids," the annoyed woman mumbled under her breath. She was glad _her _son would never behave in such a manner. Speaking of which, this would be the third Halloween with her little Dudleykins and the first real one with the boy. The first one as the only living Evans. Her eyes closed for a second as she winced before she caught herself and continued briskly on. She willed herself to stay ahead without looking anywhere but her goal. A cat, a small gray tabby strolled across her path and blinked at her knowingly but she refused to acknowledge its presence.

She reached the park that she hadn't been to in years. It had become pretty barren; now it was only occupied by a few children whispering by the slide. She remembered when she would push Lily down that slide when she was young, before Lily became such a "freak". They would go to the park every Saturday, go on the swings and slide down the slide for a bit before sitting in the shade of a large oak tree in the center of the park. The tired woman could still see herself sitting there reading a book or doing her little bit of homework she received in school while her sister would just lie on her stomach swinging her legs and watching the clouds roll by. Sometimes she would watch the bunnies that would make an appearance once and a while. Occasionally Lily would talk to her sister, not usually getting a response.

One day in particular though, she got more than three words out of her sister's mouth. It was a warmer spring day but the tree was keeping the young Evans sisters cool. A six year old Lily had been scanning the grass watching the miniature ants roam around when she had gasped and turned to the girl beside her.

"Look!" She pointed to a small patch of grass near the swing set. She had scrambled to her feet and raced over. The elder Evans glanced up briefly in curiosity as she watched her younger sister come back with something in her hands.

"A dandelion!" Lily opened her hands revealing the small, fluffy plant. The older girl wrinkled her nose in disgust, releasing a tiny "Ugh."

"I love dandelions! Do you know if you blow off all the seeds and make a wish, it would come true?"

"Um hm."

"They are my favorite flower I think." Lily affirmed, lifting the dandelion up to inspect it and make sure all the seeds were intact.

Her sister scoffed. "Lily, dandelions are nothing but weeds, a nuisance."

"Nuh uh. They just seem like that if you don't know them, if you don't get a chance to getting know them."

The older Evans just sighed and closed her book. "That's it Lily, we are leaving." She tugged on her sister's arm but Lily pulled it away. "One minute," she said and scrunched up her little face, thinking of a good wish. The young girl blew on the dandelion releasing its seeds and spreading them around the tree.

"Now there can be a whole family of dandelions!" Lily cried happily. She quickly bent down, ignoring her sister's annoyed glare. Carefully she dug a little hole and stuck the dandelion stem into the dirt, covering up the bottom so it wouldn't fall over. The dandelion drooped a little but did not fall. "Now the younger dandelions will have someone to look up to." Lily declared proudly before she was pulled away.

She never did find out Lily's wish, the now much older sister contemplated, she never would. The tight-lipped woman walked over to the old oak tree and looked up. The tree was almost bare. She glanced around quickly before pulling a cloth out of her pocket and laying it on the ground. She kneeled down on it to avoid getting dirty, and took her small package out of her pocket. The package had caused her so much fury before; earlier in the day, she had caught her nephew kneeling by and staring at it sadly outside. She knew it was his fault, there was no other way. After screaming at him for a solid five minutes straight, she had sent the little Harry to his cupboard. Discouraging and forcing the magic out of him didn't seem to be working, but she had to keep trying. There was no way another "freak" would be tolerated in the Dursley household. He would never survive.

Now the package just provoked a hint of sadness, a feeling she didn't feel too often. She inspected it carefully hoping that she didn't damage it, which she didn't. After another glance about- she didn't want anyone to see her, she closed her eyes and made a silent wish. Sparked by her breath, the seed sprung into the air and danced around her before settling down on the ground. Similar to many years before, she dug a little hole and stuck the small weed-flower in and covered it up, gently.

Then she got up, shook out, folded and put away her cloth and started to walk away. A strong wind gusted by, whipping the curls in her hair and her coat around. The remaining stem shifted, and the seeds around it swirled around upon the ground.

Petunia gave one last look to the abandoned dandelion and she could have sworn it was looking right at her- not that she would ever admit it of course.

Lily may have been a freak, but she was her freak.


End file.
